Coin selector



Patented Jan. 1, 1952 COIN SELECTOR Samuel D. Polsen and Sven H. Nelson, Fairfield, Conn., assignors of one-half to Vivian Marie Nelson, Bridgeport, Conn., and one-fourth to Blanche H. Polsen and one-fourth to Mildred P. Nelson, both of Fairfield, Conn.

Application September 29, 1948, Serial No. 51,745

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in coin selectors.

An object of the invention is to provide a coin selector including a load-and-fire mechanism for moving a coin against a part to operate the same and to move the coin past such part whereby when said load-and-fire mechanism is set in motion further movement of the coin toward and by the part is no longer under the control of the operator or the person who inserted the coin into the selector.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of the character described wherein an inserted coin moves toward operating position by gravity and including means to arrest downward movement of the coin just short of operating position to prevent the coin falling with appreciable force onto a switch or other part to be operated and said means, on manual manipulation, adapted to move such coin to and past such switch or other part through operation of the mentioned load-andfire mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein a satisfactory embodiment of the invention is shown. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details disclosed but includes all such variationsand modifications as fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken along the plane of the line l-I of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of a coin selector made in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the coin selector of the invention;

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of a spring means employed;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of an actuator employed;

Fig. 5a is a similar detail view of the lower portion of the inner side of the actuator strip;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the spring of, Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of said spring in its fully extended position.

In the drawings, the coin selector illustrated is to a considerable extent a coin selector now in commercial use. Our invention is illustrated as incorporated in that particular coin selector although it is to be understood that our invention is not limited, except where so specified in the claims, to any ofthe particular stru ure l 4 Claims. (Cl. 194-97 2 trated. Thus, it will be understood that the drawings and the following description are for the purpose of making clear the principles of the invention and specifically disclosing one operative embodiment of the same.

Referring in detail to the drawings, at I0 is generally designated a body on which various devices in the way of coin checkers are mounted, as Well as a part to be operated and all the various parts for bringing about such operation, all in accordance with the present invention. The body ll] comprises essentially a plate ll having side flanges l2 carrying studs 13 used in or for the mounting of the body in a box-like frame or casing (not shown) as is customary in the art.

A gate-like part or member I4 is hingedly mounted as on a pin l5 and a coil spring I 6, about said pin and anchored at its respective ends to the part l4 and the body H, normally tends to yieldingly dispose said gate-like part toward or against the upper portion of the body I I. An upper edge portion I! of the gate I4 is inclined outwardly (see Fig. 1) providing a coin receiving slot l8 between the plate H and the gate l4. Mounted in part on the gate l4 and in part on the upper portion of the plate I l are various coin checking devices customary in the art. These devices extend along a path between the slot I 8 and a slot l9, which latter is open at its lower end and its inner side (as will be more fully set forth) and defined by a depending portion 28 of a bracket 2| and a spaced parallel plate-like portion 22.

Mounted on the lower portion of the front side of the plate H is a housing piece 23 spaced from the plate I I. A wall-like portion 24 formed by ofi-setting the plate 23 intermediate its vertical edges and at an incline provides or constitutes a wall for a channel 25 through which a slug (in this specification and the following claims, a slug is considered any object other than a proper coin and a coin is considered any object which it is desired that the present mechanism shall respond to or which it is desired shall bring about operation of a means or device controlled by the present mechanism) inserted through the slot [8 will be discharged without setting into operation the means controlled by the present mechanism.

On the inserting of a coin, the latter strikes one arm of the pivoted checking device 26 and rocking the latter in a clockwise direction brings its arm 21 into such position that if another coin or slug is inserted in the slot 18 it will pass straight down through the discharge slot 25 to be returned. The first inserted coin having rocked the device 26 as indicated, moves between an arm 23 of the device and a gauging pin 28 and along a path on a chute or shelf 3i? and if perforated will be picked up by a checking device comprising a wire 3! and will be held against further movement. A coin passing this check ing device moves along the chute as and under a magnet 32. If the coin or slug offered is magnetic, it will be retained by the magnet 32 but if it is a proper coin it will pass by the magnet and along a suitable path and will drop down toa position where it is arrestedby engagement with the upper sides of arms 330i a combined stop means and load-and-fire mechanism, later to be described.

As a coin rocks the device 26, a pivoted l.- shaped lever 34 is rocked on its pivot and shifts the wire checking devices! to an out of the way position to permit the edge of the coin to pass over the end of said wire. Then a second and counterweighted L-shaped lever 35 also on pivot '35 having been rocked, tends back to normal position and re-positions the wire checking device 3! to have its endenter the opening of a perforated coin and hold the latter. t 537 is a means, hinged at 38and having a plate-like part 39 normally extending into a slot the gate !4. On any'attempt to stuff the present device, the 'gate [4 will swing on the pivot pin i but a leaf :spring 4| yieldingly holds the means so that its part 39 prevents forcing of any slugs or the like by the checking wire 3i.

When a slug has been-stopped by any of the suggested checking mechanism, thereafter, on operation of a manual generally designated scavenger arm 43'is rocked about its pivot i l to carry such slug from under the magnet or out of or off of the other checking mechanism and de liver such slug to the chute 25 out of the bottom end of which it passes to be returned to the party who inserted it into the mechanism. The scavenger arm '43-is pivotally'mounted on the upper portion of the body or plate II at the inner side of the gate l4.

The scavenger arm 43 includes a portion 45 through which projects a stud 46 ca "ried by the manual '42 and passing'freelythrough an open ing 4'! in the plate ll. Pivot id also passes through and'is fixedly mounted by the plate H and this pivot also passes through arcuate slot 48 in the manual 42. On depression of this manual, the stud it is moved and a sweeping clockwise motion is imparted to the arm 43- and any 'slug being held in the path of this arm will be swept along'by it and discharged into the chuteZE. The gate H.- being only yieldingly held in position by the spring I6, the gate may yield s'li'ghtly'to permitof this movement of the arm 43 "andthe ejection of any slug.

Assuming a coin to have passedthe magnetiiZ, the coin drops edgewise onto an iron or steel pad Idlocatedbetween a lower portion of plate it and asmaller plate 49 mounted on and parallel with plate H. .Suchcoin then bouncesiacross a space between plates H and '49 and rides down a chute=awa1l-:-5B to the'upper end of the slot 19 and comesto rest on the arms If the "coin" .is sactuallya slug and does not bounce across to'the wall Elias suggested, it falls on inclined lugs (5i and moves laterally through a hole or opening 52 in the plate so and onto -chute 53 between the outer side of :plate stand the rear portion of the plate 23 and is discharged lthrough'thereturn chute 25. Under certain circumstances, later to be .irecited, a coin willbe V 'shifted throughthelholeicr opening i5'2;and,=re-

7 turned through chute 25.

' comprise avending machine or a dispensing apparatus, etc. In the present instance, the control described consists of a micro-switch 54 which when energized will close a circuit through relays or otherwise to any suitable operating, as vending or dispensing, mechanism or the like.

In circuit with such controlled mechanism is a solenoid'55, thelcore of which controls movement of a keeper .56 mounting a pin 51 which projects through i an opening 58 in the plate H into the plate of movement of a coin moving from the pad 48 toward the chute 50 for entrance to the coin discharge slot l9. Thus, when a machine controlled by the present mechanism is in cperatiom the solenoid '55 is energized and the pin 51 prevents a second'coinfrom moving from pad 48 to chute fiiland'thenceto the coinslot l9. Suchsecond coin will be stopped by'the'pin 5'l'and land on the lugs 51 and t en be'shifted through the hole 52 onto the c ute 53'forreturn through the'r turn chute 25. Whenthe solenoid 55 is not energizedthe'pin '51 is in an out of the vav position and movement of the coin from pad 5 3 is to chute or slot l9 asfirst-describe'd;

From the above description it willbeun'derstood that I8 is the entrance slot for slugs as well as coins when slugsare o'fiered the machine and that 25 is the dischargeor return chute for slursand E9 the discharge chute forgood coins hich have been accepted by the various checking devices and have been used to operate the present control mechenism.

In these mechanisms, "as previously constructed and used, the micro-switch 54 is closed by t e weight of the coin. This provides considerable difliculty in that a very'light weight spring is involved since such spring must he actuated by the weight'of the coin and'whenthi'n or worn c insare offered it is desired thatthey be accepted and the mechanism respond: to them. However, to accomplish this, an extremely light spring rrust be provided in theswitchandthis occasionally results in the contact points-of the switch freezing together since the spring is not of suflicientstrength to always insure separation switch-manual represents a movable part which is a controlled part and that-the invention is-not necessarily limited to use with "a switch'm'anual sinceclearly it may be used to actuate some other control or operating part.

According to the present invention, a spring device generally designatedjfl is mounted on the inner side of the plate II. This device. is shown as bent up from a single piece of wire .an'duneludes an intermediate or connecting portiohGD, the arms of which are bent to providecoilsprings .6! and thereafter said arms extend downwardly in substantially parallel relation .as alt-.62 {and then in the same plane are carried :inwardly toward one another as at.63. Thereafter; the wires are bent to extend rearwardlyin parallelrelation as at 6.4 i andthen againare ,carrieddownwardly and outwardly as at 65 and their free lower ends are bent to extend inwardly in substantially parallel relation comprising the stop device 33 above referred to.

A clip 69 including a transversely U-shaped body portion has the bight of such portion secured against the rear side of the plate II as by screws or the like 61. A tongue 68 of the clip 65 bears against the connecting portion 60 of means 59 to secure'the latter in place. The side arms 69 and of the clip extend outwardly between the arm portions 62 of means 59. In this way, the means 59 is secured in position against the rear side of the plate I I.

The manual, generally designated 42, COIIlr.

prises a lever H which lies along the inner side of the upper edge of the plate I and is pivotally mounted as on a Stud 12 carried by the plate and passing through an opening I3 in the rear end portion of the lever. This lever 1| which is provided with the above mentioned arcuate slot 48 is normally held in a substantially horizontal position as by a spring 14, one arm 15 of which bears against the underside 'of a plate-like portion '16 of the lever and the other'arm 11 of which bears against the stud or pivot 44 for the scavenger arm 43. With this arrangement, the lever is normally kept in the position illustrated in Fig. 3 with the lower edge of the slot 49 against the stud 44 and the plate-like portion 16 and a head-like portion 18 of the lever horizontal.

This head-like portion 78 of the lever is slotted as at 19 and such slot receives the upper headlike portion 90 of a rigid strip or plunger 8|. A screw 82 passes through openings 83 in the headlike portion 18 and traverses the slot 19 in which the head 89 of the strip 9| has been inserted and passes through an elongated opening or slot 94 in said head 89. The screw thus serves to secure the strip 8| to the lever l l and a washer 95 under the head of the screw clamps a spring 86 to the lever head 18 but with a depending finger-like portion 8! of said spring against the inner side of the strip 8|.

This strip is located at the rear side of the spring device 59 and bears against the rear sides or ends of the coil portions 6| of said spring device and is guided in vertical movements by being located between the arms 69 and H! of the body of clip 69. On the inner side of the strip, at its lower end, is a cam-like lug 98' having a rounded underside and being fiat and inclined across as at 89 on its upper side.

In the normal or retracted positions of the parts (see Fig. 3) this cam 88 projects into the space between the portions 63 of the spring device 59 just above the horizontal arm portions 94 of said spring device. This lug or cam is of a greater diameter or width than the normal distance between such arms 64.

When a coin is inserted into the slot l8 and passes through the various checking devices it is delivered on the upper sides of the arms 33 which at this time comprise an arresting device or stop. Such a coin will occupy the. position suggested byythe broken line at A in Fig. 3. It will be understood that the arms 33 completely arrest motion of the coin so that the same is not free to drop with any shock onto the operating part for the micro-switch 54. Here such microswitch is shown as including a button 90 to be actuated by a spring arm 9|, which arm comprises a movable part. It will be seen clearly from Fig. 3 that the arm 9| will be in the path of a straight downward movement of the coin from the position A.

A coin having been inserted as described and having moved to the position A, the operator next depresses the manual 42 rocking the lever H about the pivot '12. This results in a downward vertical movement of the plunger or strip 8| and the cam 88 of said strip rides against the inclined portions 63 of the spring device 59 and forces apart the legs of said device thereby moving the arms 33 outwardly away from one another. Such arms extend through slots 92 and 93 formed in alignment in-both the plates 29 and 22. This will be clear from a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3.

As the arms are moved outwardly in the slots 92 and 93 it is in their extreme positions or to the extreme positions to which they may be moved by the cam 88 that the coin passes between such arms. At this time the coin will be in the broken line position B of Fig. 3 and the arms 33 will be in the extreme dotted line positions of that figure in the extreme outer ends of the slots 92 and 93. Instantly the cam has moved a distance to cause the arms 33 to be moved to their extreme open positions to permitv a coin to pass between them, the upper flat or straight across and longitudinally inclined surface '89 of the cam 88 moves from under the arms or spring portions 64. This release of the legs of the spring device 59 permits of the legs snapping back toward one another or toward their normal positions.

As this occurs, the arms 33 strike the curved edge portions of the. coin in portions thereof above the center of the coin with a squeezing or camming action, pressing or squeezing or squirting the coin downwardly. At this time, the coin may be approximately in the dotted line position C of Fig. 3 and the center of the coin. will be about to pass the movable part 9| and the latter will be against the button 99 whereby the microswitch 5 5 will be closed. In the position C of the coin, the arms 33 will be in the intermediate positions in which they are shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a means to stop the coin or arrest m'ovement of the coin. along the path to the part 9| so that the coin cannot fall under the influence of gravity any considerable distance into engagement with the said part and thus there can be no shock or jolting of this part. Additionally, with my load-and-fire mechanism comprising essentially the spring device 59 and the manual 42, when the operator depresses the manual or moves the lever 1| about the pivot 12 the device 59 is opened to release the coin.

1 Once the coin is released the operator has no further control over it since atsuch time the straight portion 89 of the cam has passed the arms 94 of the spring device and the legs of the latter snap back toward one another. As they do this, they press against the upper curved edge portions of the coin and force the latter downwardly against and past the movable part 9| to elose the micro-switch 54. The operator cannot balance any part so'as to keep the coin in switch closing position. Once he has set the coin in motion to any such extent that the latter may operate the movable part (in this instance the switch manual 9|) he has no further control over movement of the coin. Additionally, since the coin is mechanically forced against and past the part 9| of the switch manual, the switch may include relatively stiif spring means as there is ample power for closing the switch. Thereanemone surface of the camfiii strikes the curves where the'arins. iii-oi thedevice 59 start rearwardly and the plunger flexes outwardly as the spring 85 yields. When the card: has passed the mentioned portions of device: 52' the spring 35 flexes the strip Si back: to normal position with the cam 88 over the-portions .Thus the strip or. plunger and the cam are: returned to their normal positions withou preading'. the. legs of the device so that deposited on thelegszor stops o3, such coin will notice accidently released.

'l-Iavin'g' thus set forth thenature of our invention, what we claim is:

1-. In a coin selector, a body having a coin receiving slot toward its upper end, a controlling part movably mounted on the lower end portion of said body and movable relative thereto, means defining a path from said slot to said part and along which a coin may move by gravity from said slot to; aposition adjacent said part, a normally closed. stop in said path between said slot and: said part and. adjacent to the latter and adapted to receive and support a coin moving in said path at a point between said slot and said part, said step including a pair of substantially parallel arms extending transversely of the menti'oned path of movement of the coin and normaily so positioned relatively laterally as to be engaged by the leading edge of a coin moving along said path from said slot toward said part, said arms from their normal positions movable later ally away from one another to open relation 'to permit of a coin passing eclgewise between them, spring means yieldingly maintaining said arms in their normal relation and adapted to snap them back to su h relation when moved laterally outwardly therefrom and released, a manual including means adapted on movement in one direction to move said arms laterally outwardly from their normal positions to fully open positions and then suddenly release them for rapid movement back to their normal positions under the influence of said spring means, and said arms when at their fully open positions adapted to permit of edgewise movement of the previously stopped coin between them and as the arms return t'o normal positions under the influence of said spring means to engage the opposite arms and spring means are integral'parts of the same length of, wirebent inwardly of its ends to provide said arms extending substantially at right angles to the body of the wireand alsozbent to provide an intermediate portion intermediate its ends and in: spaced relation to said arms.

3. The coin selector as in claim 1 wherein said arms andspring means are portions of the same length of wire the latter being bent to provide a generally elongated U-shaped structure including an intermediate bight or connecting portion and side bars, and said side bars being each coiled upon itself adjacent said connecting portion and then extending substantially parallel and having their free end portions bent at substantially right angles to provide said arms.

4. In a. coin selector, a body having a coin receiving slot toward its upper end, a controlling part movably mounted on the lower end portion of sa d body'and movable relative thereto, means defining a path from said slot to said part and along which a coin may move by gravity from said slot to a position adjacent said part, a combined stop andcoin impeller compr sin a sin le length of wire, sa d wire being bent intermediate its ends to provide a generally elongated U- shaped structure including an intermediate'bight or connecting portion and side bars, said side bars being each coiled upon itself adjacent said connect ng portion to provide springs, said bars in spaced relation to said coils bent toward one another and then from one another to define a throat portion, said bars beyond said throat portion b nt substantially at right angles to provide substantially parallel laterally spaced arms comprising the free end portions of the bars, said arms compris ng a normally closed stop andlocated and extending across said path above said part and adapted to receive and support a coin moving in said path at a point above said part, a manual including a lug adapted on mov ment in one direction to enter said throat and spread said bars and thereby move said arms laterally outwardly from one another and immediately on iii) fully opening of said arms to pass completely through said throat and suddenly release said bars for rapid movement of said arms back to their normal po itions under the influence of said co ls, and said arms when at fully open posi tion adapted to permit of movement of the previously stopped coin edgewise therebetween and as the arms return to normal relation under the influence of said coils to engage the opposite edges of the coin above the center 'of the latter and cam said coin against and past said part to bmolve the latter relative to the first mentioned SAMUEL D. POLSEN. SVEN I-I. NELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the his of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,003,489 Jay etal. June 4,1935 2,330,548 Biniek et. a1 Sept. 28, 1943 2,435,933 Toolan Feb. 10, 1948 2,442,174 May .r May 25, 1948 

